so, what is the minimum gear and accessories i have to get to be able to assemble an "audiophile-grade" iPod system for the office or home?
think of the ipod as just another source . if you already have an "audiophile-grade" system , then all you need is a mini-to-rca cable to connect the ipod to your amp/pre-amp
what iPod model do i buy?
there are three main variants :
Ipod Shuffle - comes in 512MegaBytes ( around 120 songs ) or 1 Gigabytes ( around 240 songs ) ... very small . smaller than a pack of chicklets .
Ipod Mini - comes in 4 Gigabytes ( 1000 songs ) or 6 GB ( 1500 songs ) ... uses a small hard disk to store data.
Ipod - comes in 20 GB ( 5000 songs ) or 60 GB ( 15000 songs ) ... comes with color LCD screen that can display album art and photos .
how do i get wireless on the iPod?
not sure if you can get wireless with the IPOD although there are countless third party IPOD accessories available .
however , Apple sells another product called Airport Express . With this gadget , you can wirelessly stream music ( also data ) from a computer ( not necessarily a Mac ) to your HiFi system.
one thing i don't like about the Ipod is that it highlights the one big disadvantage of vinyl .
... with an IPOD you can create playlists which can play unattended for hours ... or you can just browse and play all the songs in your music library from a particular artist without getting up and exchanging LPs ( or CDs for that matter ) .
hope this helps.